Will electricity be free in the future?
Posted by Jolly-Turn-5996@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 39 comments
Random thought but will electricity be close to free in the future when renewables (wind/solar etc) is 100% of our energy production?
Euphoric-Brother-669@reddit
Renewables is not and will never be 100% of our energy production. it may be 100% of electricty production but that represents about 25% of the energy we use and need. We will still need oil based energy to make our world work.
my-comp-tips@reddit
No chance. Remember when the offshore wind farm was proposed 15 years ago, we were told how wonderful it would be when it was up and running, and how it would lead to cheaper bills. Yeah right!!
Late-Ad9357@reddit
electricity its self possibly. but infostructure, maintenance and development will always have a cost.
EUskeptik@reddit
In the 1950s and 60s there was talk of nuclear electricity being “too cheap to meter”.
Then in the 1970s there were claims of a 1-2-3 ratio of cost nuclear-coal-oil fired generation.
The truth is that nuclear was, is and probably always will be the most expensive way to generate electricity. And that’s without taking reprocessing and disposal of nuclear waste into account - that cost hasn’t even entered the calculation since the start of civil nuclear power in the 1950s.
-oo-
spacemcdonalds@reddit
Look to Australia.
Highest per capita in solar production and battery installs, many states now offer a few hours of electricity free a day because our grid load is getting so much better.
More EVs, more solar, more batteries should hopefully free the grid up and let Energy or Gov reward the push. So funny seeing the exact opposite happening in the former first world country of the USA. 😂
IranianAlan@reddit
since has anything gone from being paid to being free? where theres money to be made plus all the equipment, tools, man hours that go into it would you work for free?
ActionBirbie@reddit
The only possibility of this is if cold fusion is invented. And even then probably not free, just lower priced.
TonyBlairsDildo@reddit
Electricity is going to become more and more expensive as demand increases (eg more electric heating, more electric cars), while dispatchable generation (natural gas stations) remain largely static.
We could have 100 quadrillion gigawatts of wind capacity, and 100 quadrillion gigawatts of solar, but every night there is no sun and many days per month with no wind; at such times the cost of electricity will dwarf any savings from cheap periods. Prices can up to infinity, but practically will never go less than zero.
At a certainly point however upward prices become unaffordable; no one can make economic use of the electricity at high prices so demand destruction will occur. Electricity then becomes very cheap because you don't buy any and simply sit in the cold.
TheAdamena@reddit
No
Renewables aren't set-it-and-forget-it.
Panels and turbines require maintenance and have an expected lifespan. They'll need replacing eventually, which will need to be factored into the costs.
Snoo63@reddit
We've got solar PV on our roof, and nobody's been up there since they were installed, which has been more than a decade ago,
But, even with maintenance, they're more set-and-forget than kinetic-based systems since they're solid state, so there aren't any moving parts.
vishbar@reddit
Not only that, but their intermittent nature require huge amounts of balancing and storage infrastructure.
It ain’t cheap!
PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit
Only if you get personal prosecution in place - solar panels and wind turbines for your house specifically, and a battery or other storage device to deal with fluctuations in generation.
Even then, you're going to have to buy the solar panels etc so it's not strictly free.
The government could make it free if they wanted to,.but it would cost a fortune. I expect the prospect of free home infrastructure is quite low also; we used to have quite generous grants for things like solar panels but not currently.
rageofa1000suns@reddit
The cost to research, develop, manufacture and maintain isn't free, so no.
Super-Craig@reddit
Most definitely.
Same with food and housing.
I don't have much contact with our sister companies outside of my field (Bioengineering) but I know from intercompany chatter that we're on the cusp of developing true cold fusion technology. It did take a while, but both big gas and big petrol are now fully backing the project. And while uranium alternatives do exist, such as thorium, there has been a significant amount of chatter regarding a genuinely renewable uranium alternative.
There's also been major advancements in machine engineering that's making harnessing tidal power a very cheap and attractive aternative to less consitent renewables, especially for onsite energy intensive projects such as desalination plants, and pumping the clean water inland.
The stable manmade renewable helium alternative still remains one of our companies most guarded secrets, but from what I hear, there's been renewed talk about approving the patent and releasing it to the general public. The day that happens is the day we see a slow gradual return to the days where airships filled the skys. Which would see a fundamental change to the way in which wind energy is harnessed, increasing it's power yields significantly.
Solar energy costs have been decreasing exponentially across the board as our solar technology continues to advance, though the real bottleneck is energy storage. The battery capacity / efficency just isn't there, and while progress is ever increasing, I've heard no chatter on anything truly groundbreaking. The sad reality of solar energy is while it's a nice, albeit fairweather (literally), supplement, it'll never be consistent or reliable enough to out compete hydro based alternatives.
shelflamp@reddit
No, there will still be a limited supply and times of maximum demand. There may be times with free electricity and others with expensive electricity to smooth demand. That’s the supply and demand argument, there’s also the fact that building and maintaining the infrastructure costs money.
Rh-27@reddit
Absolutely not.
heroics-delta8s@reddit
96% of wind power is more expensive (and will be for decades into the future) than natural gas. Wind power requires massive capital investment and has expensive maintenance into the future.
lan0028456@reddit
Not for the foreseeable future. It's only possible if nuclear fusion become easily available, and they are owned by the government. Then it could be free, or essentially paid by your tax just like NHS.
Difficult_Bad1064@reddit
It's already happening to a small extent. Excess energy is being given away, or even paying people to use it.
If it got cheap enough it could be bundled in with your council tax, or just a set monthly fee. I think that having no disincentive to waste electricity though, would probably overload everything and be a bad idea.
dbxp@reddit
No, don't be silly
Infrastructure still requires capital and maintenance. As electricity becomes cheaper then other energy intensive industries become viable like aluminium smelting and you can cut costs in other areas by reducing investment in efficiency improvements.
AnonymousTimewaster@reddit
No. Only if you manage to personally produce more than you use.
Eukonidor_Of_Arisia@reddit
If humanity wins, yes. If the central banks and their subsidiaries win, probably not.
AnonymousTimewaster@reddit
I know which side I'm betting on
deprevino@reddit
Probably only for those on universal credit, judging by the policy path. 😂
AnonymousTimewaster@reddit
Don't forget Pensioners
Objective_Quiet_751@reddit
Gaddafi made electricity free in Libya 50 years ago. It's about political priorities, renewable or not.
Ok-Blackberry-3534@reddit
Is it free if you produce your own?
Bose82@reddit
Absolutely not. As someone who works on offshore wind turbines I can tell you that they are very expensive to construct, service and maintain. Then there's all the front office stuff such as offshore control, monitoring and engineering.
janner_womble@reddit
Are you currently paying significant amounts to big companies for energy?
Will these types of entities still be controlling the energy market in a future of renewable energy?
The answer to both is 'Yes' so no, there's not a chance in hell that electricity via commercial delivery will ever be anywhere near free.
Unhappy_Clue701@reddit
Of course not. The ‘fuel’ might be free but maintenance certainly isn’t. The vast sum of money that was borrowed to construct all those wind farms, solar farms and storage batteries, and also to fund the grid upgrades, will also need repaying.
_gothick@reddit
Not unless you control the means of production, comrade.
Minimum_Designer_135@reddit
Give it 10 or 20 years or so
PM-ME_UR_TINY-TITS@reddit
No, they still need upkeep, the grid needs maintenance, balancing etc.
Jetboy01@reddit
Even if production is entirely 'free', someone still has to maintain the infrastructure and backups so the standing charge is never going away. There might be a bigger push to 'agile' tariffs, where you are incentivised to use more or less depending on the production and storage costs at any given time. But no, it will never be free unless you go off the grid and become self sufficient.
Bjc93Bjc@reddit
Nah, we’d have to pay tax for something (high wind tax or something) and we’d also have to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the infrastructure. Look at everything else; forcing tax on EV, introducing tax on e-liquid because they’re losing income on cigarettes/tobacco. They’ll find a way to ensure we’re taxed more.
Nandor1262@reddit
Absolutely no chance.
HarlequinKing1406@reddit
LOL
But seriously, the companies won't allow it.
No_Candle2537@reddit
The production costs might get very low, but I'm not convinced the big energy companies would let us have it free
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